Join our weekly Peninim on the Torah list!

את משפטי תעשו ואת חקתי תשמרו ללכת בהם ... ושמרתם את חקתי ואת משפטי... וחי בהם

Carry out My laws and safeguard My decrees to follow/go (in) them… You shall observe My decrees and My laws … and by which he shall live. (18:4,5)

The Ksav Sofer writes that a Jew’s primary function is to go forward, not to remain stagnant, relegated to living a life of spiritual status quo. This means, Laleches bahem, to go in them, to grow in them, with Torah and mitzvos serving as the vehicle for spiritual expansion. Horav Aharon Leib Shteinman, zl, was examined by a well-known eye doctor. As part of the examination, the doctor placed drops in Rav Shteinman’s eyes. As the doctor was putting the drops in, Rav Shteinman mused, “Doctor, do you not become bored doing this day in and day out?” The doctor…

Continue Reading

איש אמו ואביו תיראו

Every man: Your father and mother shall you revere/fear. (19:3)

Interestingly, in the Aseres HaDibros, Ten Commandments, the Torah commands Kabeid es avicha v’es imecha, “Honor your father and mother” (Shemos 20:12), without adding the word ish, every man.  It is almost as if the Torah were intimating a special command to one who is an ish, that he must fear his parents. What is the difference between kavod, respect, and mora, fear? Horav Yosef Tzvi HaLevi Dunner, zl (Mikdash HaLevi), explains the disparity homiletically. The Torah is teaching us a valuable and vital lesson – one that I think is quite obvious in today’s society. The Torah world, for…

Continue Reading

לא תלין פעלת שכיר אתך עד בקר ... לא תקלל חרש

You shall not withhold a worker’s wage with you until morning… You shall not curse the deaf. (19:13,14)

The deaf person will not hear your curses. Nonetheless, one does not curse his fellow. Certainly, if he can hear and is aware of the curse, such deplorable behavior is an anathema for a Jew. The Baal HaTurim expounds on the juxtaposition of withholding wages upon cursing the deaf. Even if one has a valid complaint, i.e. he worked hard through sweat and toil, and he put in a full day’s work. He now wants/needs to get paid. He has no food at home. His children are starving. His earnings were to be used to purchase the vital necessities to…

Continue Reading

וביום השמיני ימול בשר ערלתו

On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. (12:3)

The custom among Jews is to wish the father of the newly-circumcised infant, K’sheim she’nichnas l’bris, kein yikanes l’Torah, u’lechuppah, u’lmaasim tovim, “As the infant enters into the covenant of Bris Milah, so, too, should he enter into Torah, chuppah/marriage and the performance of good deeds.” Many commentators have offered interpretations of this statement by Chazal (Shabbos 137b) – each one intimating an important lesson. I will share but a few. Tochachas Chaim explains the concept behind k’sheim she’nichnas, “As the (infant) enters into the Bris”: When a father brings his newborn son into the covenant of Avraham Avinu, it…

Continue Reading

נגע צרעת כי תהיה באדם והובא אל הכהן

If a tzaraas affliction will be in a person, he shall be brought to the Kohen. (13:9)

The Talmud Bava Metzia (59a) relates that David Hamelech bemoaned to Hashem that, following the incident with Bas Sheva, certain men were humiliating him. He added, “Even when they are engaged in (studying) Negaim (Mishnayos discussing various plagues) and Ohalos (Mishnayos dealing with tumah, ritual contamination, in a closed area such as a tent), they come to me and ask, ‘David, what form of execution does bais din give to one who has an immoral liaison with a married woman?’” They were alluding to David’s relationship with Bas Sheva which was legally permissible, but this did not prevent their tongues…

Continue Reading

ואם דל הוא ואין ידו משגת

If he is poor and his means are not sufficient. (14:21)

The Torah goes out of its way to be sensitive to the needs of one who is impoverished. I refer to one who simply has no means of providing for his family. Poverty is, for the most part, something either we hear about – but do not actually experience – or towards which we conveniently close our eyes because it makes us feel uncomfortable and guilty. This does not mean that it does not exist. Serious pockets of poverty exist all over, especially in families who have made Torah their life’s endeavor. Since, baruch Hashem, most of us remain spectators,…

Continue Reading

להורות ביום הטמא וביום הטהור זאת תורת הצרעת

To rule on which day it is contaminated and on which day it is purified; this is the law of tzaraas. (14:57)

The one who speaks lashon hora, who slanders with impunity, has a jaundiced view of people. In order to speak negatively about someone, it is natural (and probably necessary) to knock down his personal opinion of the subject of his lashon hora a few notches. He, therefore, has no qualms about humiliating him, because, after all, what is he? While this attitude may not course through the mind of every baal lashon hora, the mere fact that he is callous and unfeeling concerning the feelings of his fellow Jew is an indication that he has a low opinion of him….

Continue Reading

ויהי ביום השמיני קרא משה לאהרן ולבניו ולזקני ישראל

It was on the eighth day, Moshe called to Aharon and his sons and to the elders of Yisrael. (9:1)

Rashi explains that, when Moshe Rabbeinu summoned Aharon, he also asked the zekeinim, elders, to join them. It was important for the zekeinim to hear/see that Al pi haDibur Aharon nichnas u’meshameish b’Kehunah Gedolah, v’lo yomru meieilav nichnas, “In accordance with the statement (dibur) of G-d, Aharon enters and officiates in the office of Kehunah Gedolah, and they should not say he enters the office of Kehunah Gedolah on his own.” Apparently, Moshe Rabbeinu was concerned that the people would criticize the appointment of Aharon HaKohen as Kohen Gadol. Thus, he underscored that it was al pi haDibur, by Hashem’s…

Continue Reading

ואל בני ישראל תדבר לאמר קחו שעיר עזים לחטאת ועגל וכבש ... לעולה

And to Bnei Yisrael speak as follows: Take a he-goat for a sin-offering and a calf and a sheep… for an elevation offering. (9:3)

The Sifra identifies the sins for which the eigal, calf, and the se’ir izzim, he-goat, atoned. The eigal was offered to expiate the sin of the golden calf. The goat served as an atonement for the sin of selling Yosef as a slave and slaughtering a goat in order to dip Yosef’s multi-colored tunic into its blood. Understandably, the sin of the Golden Calf was the catalyst for the Mishkan which atoned for it. What does mechiras Yosef, the sale of Yosef, have to do with the eighth day of milluim, inauguration, of the Mishkan? Some form of identification was…

Continue Reading

ואת החסידה

And the chasidah (11:19)

The chasidah is a bird which the Torah declares not be kosher. This is enigmatic, since it is called chasidah as a result of the chesed, kindness, that it performs toward the members of its species. If it is so compassionate and shares its food with other chasidos, why is it deemed unkosher? One would think that such a noble trait would be reason to render it kosher. A well-known explanation – attributed to varied commentators – is that, while the chasidah does indeed direct its kindness towards members of its species, it does so exclusively to them. It distinguishes…

Continue Reading

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our weekly Peninim on the Torah list!

You have Successfully Subscribed!